No Name Recipe & Being Real!!

So, not much has been going on 'round these parts lately. I mean, I did celebrate a birthday! But other than that, it's been pretty quiet! So, I decided to share another recipe that I think is going to be delicious! It smells that way anyway..

As you can tell by the title of this post, there wasn't a name attached to the recipe, so I'm going to name it..

Crockpot Chicken Stuffing Goodness

4-6 chicken breasts

2 cans cream of chicken

1/4 cup of water

1 box chicken stove top stuffing

1/2 stick butter

1 package provolone cheese

Put 2-3 chicken breasts on bottom of crock pot. Mix together both cans of cream of chicken and 1/4 cup of water. Pour half of this mixture on top of the chicken breasts on the bottom of the crockpot. Then, put other 2-3 chicken breasts on top of that and cover with rest of cream/water mixture. Next, pour whole box of unprepared Chicken flavored Stove Top and 1/2 stick of melted butter. Cook this on low for about 6 hours (I went home during lunch and put it on..was perfect by about 6:30 or 7:00) and put slices of provolone in for the last 20-30 minutes.

I haven't tasted this concoction, but let me tell you.. it smells GOOOOOD!! I'm debating on whether or not I can wait for Johnny boy to get his arse home! I guess I probably will..being the good wife that I am! :) haha

Anyways.. I've been reading this blog called "Mama Needs Sushi" and it's all about this couple's journey through trying to get pregnant..getting pregnant..having a miscarriage (so SO sad), and now getting pregnant again! I can SO relate to this girl because she has everything charted down to a tee and is all technical about getting pregnant. It's funny to me that that's the kind of person I can relate to!! However, I find myself thinking... 'wow! did she really just post that out in cyberspace?! I would be mortified!' But I also find myself thinking how brave she is to be REAL with all that she's going through and feeling!

So, this has prompted me to attempt to be more "real" on my blog. Where I am right now.. I reeeeally want to get pregnant! Not sure that we are financially "ready", but really, who is?! I am trying to tell myself that "if it happens, it happens and if it doesn't, it's okay" but every month when it doesn't happen.. it's not okay.. so why even pretend?

I'm trying to keep myself busy and distracted with other things such as new puppy!! (yayy! new post to come soon!! -- can't get him until Feb. 11) and losing weight! I know most of you are thinking 'she's nuts! how can you want to lose weight and get pregnant at the same time?!' HA! I know I'm crazy! I'm trying to mostly focus on being healthy and hopefully losing weight before I am actually blessed with becoming pregnant.. totally nuts, I know!

Anyways, I guess that's why I haven't had much to talk/blog about lately... because I'm not being real about what's running through my mind. And what better place to do it than my own personal blog, right? :) I promise this will NOT be a blog all about trying to get pregnant... but just wanted to be real about what I'm going through right now.

I am trying SO HARD to be thankful for what God has going on in my life right now, and to not dwell on what I WANT to be going on in my life.. I was reading my Bible chapters today (which incidentally I'm waayy behind on, but catching up!) and one of the verses that stuck out to me was "On the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided."

Hope you're all having a FABULOUS Tuesday!

xoxo

 

 

Feeding the Hungry Herd...

Okay, so I don't really have a herd to feed.. it's just me & Johnny. I just liked the way that sounded :).

Let me start by saying sorry, I was so focused on the hurricane-like disaster I was making in our kitchen that I forgot to take any pictures.. but let's just say even if I had taken any, I would have been too embarrassed to post them because of above mentioned disaster! However, I thought I would share a couple of the recipes that I made last night. Also, this menu is totally not on the "Eating Healthy.. or Whatever" wagon, but hey, give a girl a break! :)

So, last night we had Grilled Pineapple Pork Chops, Ruby Nell's Potato Salad, baked beans & corn on the cob. De-LISH! We'll start with the recipe for the pork chops...

Grilled Pineapple Pork Chops

3-4 bone-in pork chops (To me, the thicker cut, the better..but I could only find like 1/2 inch thick at our store yesterday)

1 can sliced pineapples

When I got home from work, first thing I did after taking the beast..eh em.. I mean Riley.. out, was to take the pork chops out of the package, put them in a tupperware container ( I think mine was like 9x13 or close to it) and poured the pineapple juice from the can in the container with the chops. I poked holes in the chops so they could really soak up some flavor from the juice. I also poured all the pineapple slices on top of the chops. I left the pork chops in this container until I was ready to put them on the grill. You can do this for however long, but the longer they "marinate" in the juice, the more flavor they soak up. I try to at least leave them there for an hour or two.

Okay, as for the grilling part, I am totally not the expert on this, but I can tell you that it is better to cook them on a low temp for a longer time...rather than turning the grill on high and burning one side.. not sure who would be dumb enough to do that... Anyways. I had to call Johnny to my rescue and he salvaged the other side :) The finished product is Yummy!! and actually not too bad for you either!

Next on the menu is potato salad.. Do you ever wonder why they call this concoction a "salad"? I mean really, it is SO not good for me.. but let me tell you, it is good TO me! Anyways, moving on..this recipe is my Grandma's, and I swear everytime I make it, it doesn't taste as good as hers, but I've found that each time I get closer and closer to..well not perfection, but closer to edibleness <-- is that a word? Whatever. So here's the recipe...maybe you'll be more successful than me. Ruby Nell is the queen of potato salad and dominates this recipe everytime. Good luck!

Ruby Nell's Potato Salad

8-10 red potatoes (gma says that apparently red potatoes stay together better than others)
3-4 spoonfuls (like a slotted serving spoon) of sweet relish
dash or two celery seed (what the heck is a "dash"?! this is what messes me up!!)
dash or two prepared/ground mustard
dash or two black pepper
4-6 boiled eggs
3-4 spoonfuls mayonnaise (add more until moistened enough)
paprika

Peel and cut up potatoes. Boil until potatoes are softened, but not falling apart. Also, while you're doing this, go ahead and put your eggs on to boil. I completely forgot about my eggs last night and so that set me back about 20 minutes when I realized it. When your potatoes are the right consistency, drain them and pour into a BIG bowl. Add all the other ingredients, except for eggs and mayo. Add mayo and stir all together. If you need to, add more mayo so that it's moist enough. When you have the right combination, go ahead and add the boiled eggs and mix all together again. Sprinkle the paprika on top for decorative purposes. Yummy Yummy! Enjoy!

As for the baked beans, there's really not a recipe. I get Bush's Original baked beans and pour them in a casserole dish. I add ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, and some of JJ's homemade BBQ sauce, mix it all together and bake for about 30 or so minutes?

And corn on the cob.. we either grill it (like last night) or boil it on the stove. When we grill it, I butter the cobs and then wrap them individually in foil. turns out yummy, but again with the grilling...DON'T turn the grill on high... :S

So that's what we had for supper last night. It's funny how some women, like me, spend ALL day thinking about what we're going to cook for supper. I honestly should be thankful that I have a husband who would be just as content eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a bowl of cereal, but I just love the challenge of a new recipe or even perfecting an old recipe. I love displaying it all and getting out dishes and silverware and sitting together to eat. I really think I should have gone to culinary school, because I honestly would rather be in the kitchen cooking and trying new things than many things on my to do list.

OH, and I almost forgot... for dessert, I made my Grandma's famous Brown Sugar Pecan Bars! I'm telling y'all, that woman knows how to COOK! I get most of my recipes from her! I don't have that recipe handy right now, but in the next few days, I'll do a post on that!

Hope y'all are having a good Wednesday! And don't forget, try to be Christ's light for all people you come in contact with! All the other things we have going on mean NOTHING without Jesus! He doesn't care about all the difficult recipes I try, or how many religious movies I watch.. it's all about how I live and how many people I bring to know Him!

And since I didn't have any pictures of the food I cooked, I figured I'd show y'all one of my random favorites from our Engagement Session with Jenny Evelyn Photography.

xoxo

"I Will! I Will!"

Wow! I don't even have words to describe this movie and how powerful it is! I borrowed it from a friend last night because I had heard it was a very good movie, and what else is there to do on a random Monday night? So, after supper I begggeeeddd Johnny to watch it with me, and surprisingly, I won the battle! :)

Within the first 3 minutes, yes I said THREE, I was boo-hooing! And it was downhill from there... I'm going to estimate that there were at least 5-10 isolated times that I was wiping away tears during this movie.

I'm not going to be one of those people who ruins the story line and outcome for you, but I just have to say, if you haven't seen it, you MUST! The general message of the movie was SO touching and definitely got through to me and to John John. When the credits started rolling, I wanted to get up and DO something... get up and BE something. I wanted to stop wallering in my own self pity and be grateful for what God has given me. I don't want to just be grateful for those things, but I want to use those things/talents the way God meant me to use them. I'm supposed to be living my life so that Christ shines out of me.. in the way I talk, act, love, etc. I'm supposed to lead others to Christ. My God is so amazing, so why wouldn't I be doing this?

One of the lines in the movie, one of my favorites, says:

"Where are you men of courage? Where are you fathers who fear the Lord? It's time to rise up and answer the call that God has given to you, and say 'I will! I will!' "

This is SO true.. I want nothing more for my children than to have a Christian father who will lead them in what's right and wrong, and teach them to follow Christ. Men are supposed to be the spiritual head of the household and so many men fall short of this calling. Also, what I hope for my children, is that I can be the supportive wife of their father so that he can fulfill his calling more effectively. I hope to set a spiritual example for them day to day, and to help John John mold them into the people that God wants them to be.

I know I'm rambling, but I just can't say it enough how important I think it is that you all see this movie! So touching and moving! So anyways, have a happy Tuesday, and just DO it! Rent it, buy it, borrow it. Just watch it!


xoxo

The Waiting Game..

I love playing games.. usually any kinds of games.. board games, game shows, football games.. you get the drift. But the Waiting Game, that's one I'm not so fond of!

You all know what I'm talking about.. whether it's waiting to see a long lost friend or family member who is on their way to visit, or waiting to see the results of a test that tells you if your family member has cancer or not, or waiting to finally get the outcome you've been WAITING on your whole life.. blah. I don't like this game. Isn't it time to tap out yet? Give my turn to someone else.

Parents ,teachers, friends, co-workers tell you all the time to "be patient", "wait your turn", "it will all happen in God's time". All that is good and great, and don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have friends and family who try to comfort me when I'm playing this dang waiting game, but I'm just tired of waiting! I wish God knew what Jenn's time was like HA! I'm so impatient and it's a curse, let me tell you!

So, this is why I pray for patience EVERY day! I pray that God would give me the strength to stop asking "When?" "Why not now?" "Why not me?" etc. etc. etc. Johnny boy said this morning, "Jenn, stop asking me so many questions!", and I thought, 'jeez if he's tired of my questions, I know God must be too!'

Do any of you have something you need to work on within yourself? Please tell me yes, so I don't think I'm a horrible person :) Sorry for the rant today, but like I said, I'm using this blog as a way to document my/our lives, and this is part of it! Dealing with my everyday struggles and/or celebrations! Here's to hoping tomorrow is a better day, with more patience and less questions!!


P.S. It's Johnny boy's birthday today!! He's a quarter of a century old!!! (25) in 11 days, I'll be one year behind him, but for right now, he's TWO YEARS older than me! Old fart! :)


xoxo

Eating Healthy... or Whatever

So, like every other person on the planet (besides those naturally skinny freaks that "just can't seem to gain weight" --shut it!), I'm trying to make better choices when it comes to my diet..

I've tried all the fad diets, and none were the perfect fit for me. I've found that I do better when i'm not on a strict "can't eat that, eat only that" diet.. I have tried Weight Watchers before and it is a very good program. However, I don't want to pay the monthly fee for it, so I'm trying to semi-do it myself.

One of the main things that the Weight Watchers program promotes is making better choices about what you put into your mouth... and balancing those choices out. If you want to eat 3 double stuffed Oreos, go for it sista! But, you're going to have to balance that out by eating only celery sticks for supper.. I like this program, because if you want to splurge or if you just don't have any healthy options at a certain point in the day, you are okay.. you just have to compensate for that choice in the rest of your choices throughout the day.

So, last night for supper, I tried to make better choices, while still satisfying my hubby's taste for "meat and taters!" This was my menu...

Grilled Ribeye Steaks (marinated in Dale's..yum!)

Grilled Asparagus -

melt 1 tbsp butter in the pan (don't judge me for the butter.. I said I was trying to make better choices). Put fresh asparagus in, sprinkle some minced garlic & olive oil and cook for about 10 minutes or so until done.

Whiskey Glazed Carrots ** got this recipe from Pioneer Woman, and it was like SLAP YO MAMA good!! Def try it out!

Ranch Roasted Potatoes

Cut up about 10-12 red potatoes in quarters or more (sometimes if they're big potatoes, I'll cut the quarters in half) and put them in a bowl. Pour about 3 tbsp olive oil and one packet of Ranch powder. Put a lid on the bowl and shake, shake, shake! Make sure all potatoes are evenly covered with ranch/oil mixture. Put potatoes on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Best thing you ever put in your mouth! It's not super duper healthy, but it's better than doing baked potatoes and putting butter, sour cream, cheese, and whatever other substance you put on baked potatoes. :) See, choices!

We also had a side salad, but I opted out of this since I would have eaten Jalapeno Ranch with it, and I was already cheating a little on the potatoes :) So, that was our meal.. here are some more pictures of my little silly display I did on the kitchen island.

Random question.. How do you display your meals? Does everyone sit at the table with all the food in the middle of the table and you dip out what you want, or do you set up a serving section in the kitchen and everyone makes their plate and then heads to the table? Just curious. My grandma does the middle of the table thing and I do the serving section in the kitchen thing.. probably because that's what my mom always did. :)

..and I know you're all wondering who my sous chef was..

Cute

Sweet, such a good helper

....aaaand she's done!

And of course I can't let you go without showing you "where the magic happens"!

So, that's what I've been up to... trying to eat better, and just make better choices all around. What dieting strategies are you using? Tips? Advice? Hope everyone is having a great week!

xoxo

Reason #1 to NOT get married! <-- just kidding :) love my man!

.... because HE, whoever HE may be, will NOT share the dang TV!!

let's be real ladies.. men are remote hogs! and 'round these parts, that causes conflict! I love me some Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl, Hart of Dixie, etc. etc. etc. but I'm so spoiled with DVR that I don't want to watch them WHEN they come on..duh. Why would I pay for DVR and not use it?! That would be just dumb, right?

I catch myself when he's out of town, being like AHH I've got to fit all of my recorded shows into these one or two nights! No MORE!! We are about to have to set up a TV schedule so that everyone gets equal time with the remote!

Haha, obviously I am totally just kidding, because God knows I won't win that battle anyways. I'll still be like a TV junkie when he's out of town trying to fit it all in.. I just thought this was an interesting topic, and wondered if any of you other ladies have this problem at home?

I kind of want this blog to be a therapeutic place for me to just write about my feelings, but also to get advice from other young women in my same shoes, or from older women who have been here before. So, PLEASE, feel free to leave comments, whether it's to tell me I'm being totally over dramatic (which, like I said in this situation, I totally am, but I just felt like writing about it) or to give me a big "AMEN SISTA".

Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday!

xoxo

 

 

Being a Better Christian..

Do you ever feel like, in whatever you're doing, whether it's room mom, friend, career, etc. etc. that you're not holding up your end of the bargain? Well, I've been having this nagging feeling that I'm not holding up my end of the bargain with God.. I know that's a strange way to put it, but that's the simplest terms I could think of. I'm just not doing my part. Period.

He gave His son for me and for everyone else on this earth, here now, gone already, and not yet arrived.. and I can barely get my rear up for church every Sunday morning?! What the heck?! And that's not even the worst of it.. I mean, I've been telling myself for at LEAST the past 5-7 years that I wanted to read the Bible cover to cover in a year, and do you think, minus during Bible studies, that I've even gotten past Genesis? NO! Ugh I'm just going through a phase right now where I am so disappointed in myself. It's just like trying to lose weight...I know what to do. I know the right choices to make.. yet I fail, fail, fail again.

Sorry, not trying to make this a depressing post, just trying to light a fire under my rear end, and possibly under someone else's in the process? Ya know, witnessing, like, one of the MAIN things we are sent to this Earth to do? Blah! just a bit out done with myself.

Oh well, it's 2012. New year, new me, right? Right! I'll try to do posts on how I'm coming with reading the Bible thru this year... I'm supposed to start January 15th (Sunday). Maybe having this accountability "partner" (my blog), I will DO IT!

I hope you guys have a great weekend! I promise my posts will start having photos in them soon.. just have to load them onto my computer first! Happy weekend!


xoxo

Welcome Y'all!

Well.. hello! My name is Jenn, and as y'all can probably tell, I'm new to this whole blogging thing! I've been reading/following blogs for almost a year now, but actually writing one.. yeesh, we will see how this goes! :)

So, let's start with introducing myself! I'm 23, almost 24 years old.. just married the love of my life, John-John in October of 2011 (no, that is not a typo, his name is John-John :) ) and now we are just living the married life! I am SO enjoying the peace and quiet that comes along with it.. no planning, stressing, ANXIETY of wedding planning! Don't get me wrong, it was TOTALLY worth it and our wedding day was absolutely amazing, but the months leading up to it were the MOST stressful of my entire life! So, now that all that is over, we are just living the simple life, making tough decisions like, ya know, what we're having for supper or what DVR'd TV show we're going to watch that night! It is HEAVEN!

I originally grew up in a town in Texas that didn't have, like, the best mall in the world, but we had the normal stuff like TARGET for crying out loud! The town I now live in (where Johnny boy was born and raised) has.....drumroll.....a gas station. I'm not even lying. No Target, no Wal-Mart, no grocery store... thought I was going to die! But, oddly enough, I am SO enjoying living here in the simple life. I mean, we have places like Target, Wal-Mart grocery stores within at least 20-30 minutes of our house, and the only difference is it takes a little more planning. If you forget sour cream to go with your tacos one night (been there, done that) you call a neighbor and borrow it, instead of just running up the street to the nearest Kroger or Publix! It can be inconvenient, but it is amazing to know all of your neighbors and be able to feel safe walking in pitch black dark outside.. And let me tell you, it has been EXCELLENT for my checkbook that I can't just "run up the street" to Target or..eh em.. the mall :S!

So that's a little bit of an introduction of me.. I'll be doing an introduction of John-John (aka Johnny Boy, JJ, Johnivan...etc. etc.) soon! I'm going to try and keep this thing interesting.. I know I want to do posts about our wedding, my recent trip to NYC, Christmas, etc. All things that have happened in the past 6 months, but that I want to make sure and document. Hopefully one day soon I'll be posting about a pregnancy :), but not just yet! All in God's time! Hope y'all enjoy this.. at least I know I will!


xoxo